Throwing Bouws

Well, Michal Handzus is just about done. I can’t imagine many playoff-level fantasy teams finding a spot for him. While Chicago’s abundance of talent is alluring, it’s hard to imagine him getting on the ice much with those guys ... Robyn Regehr might help to fill some of that missing Willie Mitchell goodness in Los Angeles, although any reasonable observer would prefer Mitchell. Both have limited fantasy value, though.

RANGERS WITHIN RANGE

Continuing Monday’s search for halfway-decent players to help you survive Sidney Crosby’s injury, I couldn’t help but note two New York Rangers who are only owned in about half of Yahoo’s fantasy leagues: Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan.

Stepan (49 percent owned) is a guy I've pumped up in the Daily Dose before, but is worth mentioning after a two-goal, +4, two PIM and four SOG night on Monday. He remains a point-per-game player stemming from March and seems to be getting plum assignments, making him the "sexier" pick.

I just happened to think to glance at Callahan’s ownership numbers and noticed that he’s only owned in 56 percent of leagues. Maybe that’s because he’s not always the most consistent scorer - he broke a five game drought with Monday’s four points - but he really shines in leagues with deeper categories.

For one thing, he’s been reliable for about three SOG per game in recent seasons, including 101 in 32 games in 2013. His six PIM are actually a disappointment after he had 61 last season and generally hovers around the 40+ area.

The pivotal thing, for me, is if you're in a hits league because he has an appealing 119 so far this season. That ties him for ninth overall in the NHL with David Backes, a guy who's played in two more games.

Both of these Rangers bring enough to the table to merit serious consideration. If you have the luxury of choosing between the two, it comes down to a higher ceiling in the short-term (Stepan) versus more versatility (Callahan).

Just when it seemed like Jaroslav Halak was back to being The Man in St. Louis, he suffered a worrisome lower-body injury. Snatch Jake Allen if someone dumped him, but don’t count Brian Elliott out of this weird situation, either. (Though Allen should be the frontrunner, you’d think.) ... Nick Foligno is day-to-day with an upper-body injury ... Viktor Fasth showed that he still has value last night, yet I still hope you found a sell-high deal for him earlier this season ... So much for the Dallas Stars showing how much heart they have, huh? The Ducks handled them 4-0 last night ... It looks like Maxime Talbot is out indefinitely with his leg problem ... Mason Raymond is day-to-day with a shoulder ailment ... Sports Club Stats increased the Blues’ chances of making the playoffs by about 12 percent to 73.7 thanks to Monday’s win against the Minnesota Wild, not the trade they made or the injury they suffered. Dallas, meanwhile, saw about a 12 percent dive in its odds.

Quick note: Brian Rosenbaum is running a trade deadline-related Rotoworld chat between 5-6 p.m. ET on Wednesday. It will be a great way to get instant analysis of that (hopefully?) crazy day’s events if you want to make moves on the fly. Don’t miss it.

***

A few trade dominoes dropped on Monday, including one that is fairly significant.

With all due respect to Robyn Regehr (going to the Los Angeles Kings) and Michal Handzus (returning to the Chicago Blackhawks), the St. Louis Blues’ acquisition of Jay Bouwmeester is the move that will almost certainly have the largest direct fantasy influence. It remains to be seen if this move actually benefits Bouwmeester fantasy owners, however.

Those hoping for a big bump for Dennis Wideman will probably be set up for a disappointment because he's already leading the team with 3:45 PP time per game. (Maybe Mark Giordano gets a boost, however?)

While the bland defenseman has had a good season overall (15 points in 33 games, plus that workload), things have slowed down recently. He finished his Flames career on a five-game pointless streak, registering a -4 rating in his last game on March 29.

Maybe the trade rumors weighed on his mind, but either way, it’s clear that a change of scenery is the best thing - in real hockey terms, at least. After hitting the 40+ point mark in three of his last four Florida Panthers season (plus a nice 37-point campaign), he's topped out at 29 points in Calgary.

If sturdiness is a concern, do note that he came into this season with a perfect attendance ribbon (all 82 games played) in all of his last seven seasons.

THE CLIMATE IN ST. LOUIS

To some extent, it seemed like the St. Louis Blues had redundant strengths on defense: two gifted right-handed offensive defensemen named Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk. While there is a clear difference between where the two are in the grand scheme of things for the team - Pietrangelo is averaging about three and a half more minutes per game - their PP time is nearly identical.

Is that likely to change? Maybe. The handedness could open up some possibilities for St. Louis, even if Bouwmeester doesn’t blow you away with his scoring instincts and abilities.

Like Bouwmeester, Shattenkirk has seen a red-hot start slow down considerably, although the 24-year-old does have two points in his last two games. After collecting 15 points in his first 19 games, Shattenkirk had just five points in 14 March games. That included a pointless streak that lasted eight contests.

Big picture, I’d expect Shattenkirk to still get plenty of power play opportunities, but I’d be a little worried. Overall, I’d guess Bouwmeester settles into his Flames role of doing a lot of high-end heavy-lifting while two offensive specialists get the better man advantage chances.

Summary: Bouwmeester’s value probably won’t change significantly, although being traded - and playing for a better team - might give him at least a temporary boost. We’ll have to wait and see about the ripple effects for guys like Shattenkirk and Giordano, too.

Jump for assorted fantasy musings.

* - I know I just said that it’s pronounced BOH, but I had to get that dumb pun out of my system. I hope that’s OK.

Well, Michal Handzus is just about done. I can’t imagine many playoff-level fantasy teams finding a spot for him. While Chicago’s abundance of talent is alluring, it’s hard to imagine him getting on the ice much with those guys ... Robyn Regehr might help to fill some of that missing Willie Mitchell goodness in Los Angeles, although any reasonable observer would prefer Mitchell. Both have limited fantasy value, though.

RANGERS WITHIN RANGE

Continuing Monday’s search for halfway-decent players to help you survive Sidney Crosby’s injury, I couldn’t help but note two New York Rangers who are only owned in about half of Yahoo’s fantasy leagues: Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan.

Stepan (49 percent owned) is a guy I've pumped up in the Daily Dose before, but is worth mentioning after a two-goal, +4, two PIM and four SOG night on Monday. He remains a point-per-game player stemming from March and seems to be getting plum assignments, making him the "sexier" pick.

I just happened to think to glance at Callahan’s ownership numbers and noticed that he’s only owned in 56 percent of leagues. Maybe that’s because he’s not always the most consistent scorer - he broke a five game drought with Monday’s four points - but he really shines in leagues with deeper categories.

For one thing, he’s been reliable for about three SOG per game in recent seasons, including 101 in 32 games in 2013. His six PIM are actually a disappointment after he had 61 last season and generally hovers around the 40+ area.

The pivotal thing, for me, is if you're in a hits league because he has an appealing 119 so far this season. That ties him for ninth overall in the NHL with David Backes, a guy who's played in two more games.

Both of these Rangers bring enough to the table to merit serious consideration. If you have the luxury of choosing between the two, it comes down to a higher ceiling in the short-term (Stepan) versus more versatility (Callahan).

Just when it seemed like Jaroslav Halak was back to being The Man in St. Louis, he suffered a worrisome lower-body injury. Snatch Jake Allen if someone dumped him, but don’t count Brian Elliott out of this weird situation, either. (Though Allen should be the frontrunner, you’d think.) ... Nick Foligno is day-to-day with an upper-body injury ... Viktor Fasth showed that he still has value last night, yet I still hope you found a sell-high deal for him earlier this season ... So much for the Dallas Stars showing how much heart they have, huh? The Ducks handled them 4-0 last night ... It looks like Maxime Talbot is out indefinitely with his leg problem ... Mason Raymond is day-to-day with a shoulder ailment ... Sports Club Stats increased the Blues’ chances of making the playoffs by about 12 percent to 73.7 thanks to Monday’s win against the Minnesota Wild, not the trade they made or the injury they suffered. Dallas, meanwhile, saw about a 12 percent dive in its odds.